2008 Woodie Awards
Food for Thought: What's the Real Agenda of the Fast Food Industry
Some places pretend to be worried about health while others don't.
Erica Tibbetts
Issue date: 4/15/05 Section: Opinions
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America is a fast food nation. I know that's a cliché and I'm sure we're all tired of hearing about it, but can we deny it? Look at our culture, our eating habits and our best-seller lists ("The Complete Atkins Diet" has been in the top 10 for what seems like years!).
Americans indulge in high-paced lives in which they can't afford the time to sit down and eat a healthy, fresh home-cooked meal, much less actually take the time to prepare one. So, the rational option is fast food; it's cheap and easy.
I know that as long as America is the country it is - democratic, ambition driven, capitalistic and, well, the largest super-power in the world, fast food is going to be not just popular, but necessary. I only wish fast food joints would behave a little better.
Recently Burger King came out with the Enormous Omelet Sandwich, a sandwich that lives up to its name. Not only does it have a sausage patty and cheese, but it also comes with scrambled eggs and bacon, all inside a bun about the size of my head. It all adds up to a whopping (no pun intended) 730 calories, and 43 grams of fat. Now, the average adult needs to consume 2000 calories a day. Thus, if you do the math, they only need to eat 3 of these sandwiches to be set for a WHOLE DAY!!!
It's insane! America is literally turning into a nation of fatties: 20.9 percent of us are considered overweight! Fast food is helping this trend. With the average burrito containing 700 calories and most burgers packing over 500, Americans are rushing headlong into obesity, and McDonalds, Wendy's and Burger King are encouraging them. Sure they all offer "carb-friendly" options and salads, but do any of them put surgeon general's warnings next to their menus that say: "This sandwich, biggie shake, double beef burrito, or large order of fries could cause obesity, heart disease and clogging of the arteries?" No, they don't. They keep piling on the extra mayonnaise, the extra beef patties or the extra slice of cheese. Meals go from being super-sized to mega-sized, drinks now come in containers that could hold enough gas to fill up your SUV and even the salads have enough calories to feed a normal person for days. Fast food chains are capitalizing on Americans lack of willpower and need for a quick fix.
Of course the restaurants are not totally or even remotely the only ones to blame. The people who go there should be intelligent enough to realize what they're eating. But, of course, they don't. I know people who sat down to watch 'Super-Size Me!' (the movie showing the profoundly detrimental effects of fast food) and, when it was over, were able to go out and buy a large portion of fries!
Fast food has taken over our country, and experts say that, if we continue in the direction we're headed, the last skinny person will become overweight some time before 2040. So think about that the next time you reach for a Big Mac or your jumbo-sized soda.
Americans indulge in high-paced lives in which they can't afford the time to sit down and eat a healthy, fresh home-cooked meal, much less actually take the time to prepare one. So, the rational option is fast food; it's cheap and easy.
I know that as long as America is the country it is - democratic, ambition driven, capitalistic and, well, the largest super-power in the world, fast food is going to be not just popular, but necessary. I only wish fast food joints would behave a little better.
Recently Burger King came out with the Enormous Omelet Sandwich, a sandwich that lives up to its name. Not only does it have a sausage patty and cheese, but it also comes with scrambled eggs and bacon, all inside a bun about the size of my head. It all adds up to a whopping (no pun intended) 730 calories, and 43 grams of fat. Now, the average adult needs to consume 2000 calories a day. Thus, if you do the math, they only need to eat 3 of these sandwiches to be set for a WHOLE DAY!!!
It's insane! America is literally turning into a nation of fatties: 20.9 percent of us are considered overweight! Fast food is helping this trend. With the average burrito containing 700 calories and most burgers packing over 500, Americans are rushing headlong into obesity, and McDonalds, Wendy's and Burger King are encouraging them. Sure they all offer "carb-friendly" options and salads, but do any of them put surgeon general's warnings next to their menus that say: "This sandwich, biggie shake, double beef burrito, or large order of fries could cause obesity, heart disease and clogging of the arteries?" No, they don't. They keep piling on the extra mayonnaise, the extra beef patties or the extra slice of cheese. Meals go from being super-sized to mega-sized, drinks now come in containers that could hold enough gas to fill up your SUV and even the salads have enough calories to feed a normal person for days. Fast food chains are capitalizing on Americans lack of willpower and need for a quick fix.
Of course the restaurants are not totally or even remotely the only ones to blame. The people who go there should be intelligent enough to realize what they're eating. But, of course, they don't. I know people who sat down to watch 'Super-Size Me!' (the movie showing the profoundly detrimental effects of fast food) and, when it was over, were able to go out and buy a large portion of fries!
Fast food has taken over our country, and experts say that, if we continue in the direction we're headed, the last skinny person will become overweight some time before 2040. So think about that the next time you reach for a Big Mac or your jumbo-sized soda.